Get In Sync

It’s a magnificent spring day here in the weather temperamental North East. Just when you think it’s spring – it’s not. And though it might rain the rest of the week, we have today, a warm, sunny, lovely day.
So I’m sitting outside at a local pedestria...

It’s a magnificent spring day here in the weather temperamental North East. Just when you think it’s spring – it’s not. And though it might rain the rest of the week, we have today, a warm, sunny, lovely day.

So I’m sitting outside at a local pedestrian mall soaking it all up while I can. And then I notice something striking – people are strolling. I truly don’t know the last time I’ve seen this, let alone done it. For the first time in a long time there seems to be nowhere to go and plenty of time to get there. I’m sure these people are busy but the weather just seems to beckon them to walk without purpose.

Equally interesting is watching the pairs of walkers, walking and talking and taking it all in. It’s really a beautiful sight to see; people out just to enjoy not only the weather but each other’s company. And as they are walking I notice something interesting, many if not most of these pairs, are walking in sync. In particular there was this older couple, clearly married and from the coordination of their gait I’d imagine married for many, many years. It was mesmerizing to watch their slow, methodical, mindfully choreographed steps. They were wholly in sync and I found myself captivated.

Was this a conscious little dance they do? Was this the rhythm of the universe at work (called “entrainment”, when objects in motion like the pendulums on grandfather clocks are in close proximity? No matter how out of sync they might have originally begun, they always end up swinging in unison). Or maybe this is what happens after fifty years of marriage (or let’s be specific, fifty years of good marriage) where the couple not only begins to look alike and act alike but walk in step, literally, with one another as they make their way down the path.

Whatever it was, whatever it is, it’s enough to make you stop and think. Perhaps there’s a divine rhythm and flow in us, in others and within the universe too. Somehow in spring it just feels easier to remember that, feel that and even get into step with it, with that godly rhythm that’s in there, out there, in the world and in our step.

So take notice of your walking speed. Pay attention to your pace. Slow down and really connect with that person next to you and remember, at least on these sunny days, in the end it’s really not a race.

Rabbi Dr. Baruch HaLevi (aka “B”) is a motivational speaker and inspirational author who has guided thousands of people—Christians, Jews, spiritual seekers and secular atheists—through all of life’s transitions, challenges and tragedies, detailed in his most recent book, “Spark Seekers: Mourning with Meaning, Living with Light.” Baruch works with clients by phone/video, guiding them through his life-coaching program, “The Way,” or his co-created grief guidance program, “Mystical Mourning.”